A/N: That's it. I'm making a vow of loyalty to this site.No other fanfiction site seems to like me. I don't understand FictionAlley, HPFF just doesn't work for me, I don't have the word program for Phoenix Feather, and Mugglenet FanFiction rejected...this story! Oh, blow it all.
One Note: Andromeda, or at least my version of her, is not mean. She did not kick out Remus, he walked out by himself for a reason you'll see in this chapter. Her comments were a twist on the lyrics of I Will Survive (It sounded funny at first, anyway). OK? Cool.
Sivaroobini Lupin-Black- Forever to update? I update once a week! Or at least I try to. Still, your impatience is a good sign. Remus is gone because...well, if you look back a few chapters, you might be able to guess. Or just read the forthcoming chapter. Thanks for reviewing again!
Ash-the-great- See the note above, Remus IS welcome, he left out of choice. Also...er, I'm afraid putting Remus in a whole different country would complicate things a bit, but he may come to visit before he and Tonks go back to Hogwarts. And, yeah, Sirius told Ted. It's kind of a male understanding thing, and also, Ted isn't afraid of werewolves and so wouldn't have any qualms about them getting together like Andromeda might. Thanks for the progress reports (though they may have to stop soon), and a chart would be so fun!
angeltread- GASP! I am? Really? That's...that's like the best compliment ever! THANK YOU!
I am a Banana- Don't cry...eat some marshmallows, if you have any left! Thanks for the constant marshmallows, they're a great e-energy source. That, and the e-coffee I export from e-Bolivia. Nah, I'm kidding. Thanks for your loyalty!
Kerichi- Well...Sirius telling Ted...can you really picture him having a serious 'talk' with Andromeda? And her friends aren't really the best people... It's kind of a male connection thing, and also, if you look at Tonks's reasons for going out with Remus a few chapters back, she writes that Ted isn't afraid of werewolves, which he isn't. He's a Muggleborn and so, like Hermione, hasn't really adjusted to wizarding prejudices. And I'm glad you liked Andromeda...I put that note in as I was getting reviews beforehand saying how mean Andromeda was, and I didn't want people to think that. I was hoping people would deduce where Remus had gone...but, oh well. Huzzah for your great reviews!
Deb-lil- Firstly, thanks for commenting on the summary, no one else did. And don't apologise for insulting James, I guess I was feeling fangirly at the time. And an owl sweater? Aw, does that have something to do with your concern for the welfare of Remus's owl? He's mentioned again in this chapter, you'll be pleased to know. And Sirius is a little insane, as are most of my friends...that's why I love them. And I'm glad you're pleased about Ted and Andromeda's involvement in the fun that is RemusTonks. (Remonks? Tomus? Thomas! OMG!) And it's nice that you can picture Ted, I can too. And it's OK to find Tonks's 'emotional crisis' funny, especially since I never considered it an emotional crisis. Thanks for the long review, and for making me glad I'm not the only one the site screwed up on.
lupinsmoon12391- Meh heh. Yep, Tonks will survive! Just...thanks for reviewing!
GreenTea&Honey- Lots of love to you for guessing correctly! And Remus sends his thanks for the hug and love, he needs some sympathy...don't worry, he'll be OK! And I'm glad you liked the biting and that you reviewed again! Thank you!
Jousting Elf with a Sabre- AHH! Don't have a heart attack! PLEASE! And don't spontaneously combust either, I'd feel very guilty. Thanks for reviewing, I love your name!
LunaCatt- Tonks and Remus will be reunited, worry not. Thanks for reviewing!
Emmanuelle Lisselle Grey- YAY! Thank you for the wonderful compliments...I have a cliffhanger OBSESSION. I really, really do.
Lucky Moony- YAY, I thought that you had forgotten me. And your petit Remus will be fine, I assure you. Poor thing, let's all hug him. Thank you for your lovely French reviews!
cassie89- I like Ted and Sirius too...but I prefer Remus and Tonks (sarcastic gasp). And the update is here, thank you for reviewing again!
Blackness Angel- Hope you've recovered from the fright! And updating often is the best thing...there are so many lovely stories that are just...forgotten by their authors! Sniff! Poor abandoned fanfics! I am grateful for your advice, and also your reviews!
bella1305pickles- Thanks for your review...Andromeda is not evil. Really.
FetishFemale- Wow, I'm pleased that I made you gape. Andromeda is crazy, but she's nice. Really. And Snuffles is my favourite dog...chasing butterflies IS fun isn't it? Although butterflies make me think of my little sister, who at first did not understand the principles of butterfly catching and put them in her pocket. Then there was that one she flushed...but I'm rambling. Thanks for your review, hope you recover from vertigo!
claire- OK...either there's more than one Wiggy's World (gasp!) or we live in the same area (gasp again!). Thanks for your review, I'm updating!
gatermage- Yep, Remus and Tonks need to get off their backsides, I agree. Though the will-they-won't-they concept is fun to write. Remus has gone...to a mysterious place! You'll find out in this chapter, thanks for reviewing again!
And now, on with the chapter. I love you reviewers. You guys make my week. You really do. This chapter is incredibly long...enjoy!
3rd August
Remus's POV
Ahh. Thank Merlin it's all over.
I got the owl at about 4 in the afternoon. I gathered a few things, hoping that I'd get some spare time or something, and Apparated to my home city as soon as I possibly could. My mother had been taken to a Muggle hospital, as we live among Muggles and they did what they knew. In the wizarding world, a Healer comes to the house, and I would have preferred that. However, the thought of blood and...all that other stuff I don't want to think about being on our sofa or over the sheets was unthinkable.
I didn't get a break, sadly. No, I was a good son and held my mother's hand for pretty much the whole thing. I fell asleep at one point, I think, or perhaps my memory slipped as there seems to be a gap in my remembrance. What I do remember, however, is slightly gruesome. I do hope that my wife (who I do not picture as Tonks, honest...heh...heh...) is not so anxious to have me by her side when she gives birth. Perhaps it wasn't just the nature of it all that bothered me. Perhaps it was fear of the new sibling just hours (25 and a half, to be precise. Holy Hippogriffs, and I thought it'd be over by tea time!) away from ruining my happy life with my mother.
But now...I think I've changed my mind. In fact, I know I've changed my mind. I feel very attached to you, Little Nameless Being whose surname shall sadly be Morhange and not Lupin. Maybe because you're so...small. Your hands make mine feel very large, and the same with your feet. But then, my feet are huge by anyone's standards. You really are rather lovely. I think you might have red hair-unlike my brown and mum's black. It's lovely; like Lily Evans's. Not that I fancy her, of course...but she's got gorgeous hair. Maybe you'll look like her. As long as James leaves you alone when you're older...
Whoa. I'm getting all protective of you already. Must be the animal in me, hé? Mmm...perhaps I should speak to you in French. After all, it's the language I was raised in, despite being born in England. Actually, my parents tried to raise me in both. The first thing I said to my teacher on my first day at school was "Bonjello, my apple Remus."
Why am I telling you all this stupid stuff? You probably don't even know who I am. Well, I'm your brother. We're going to live in our cottage on the rural-urban fringe of the city, which is being built on now so you can listen to a lullaby of traffic, drills and diggers. Your bedroom is all pink and girly because Maman knew you were going to be a girl. My bedroom is kind of pathetic in comparison, it hasn't been decorated since I was your age. James, Sirius and Peter, my best friends, think I still like that yellow bear with the red T-shirt that my mother (who's a Muggle, sadly) liked when she was little. Winnie the Pooh.
Which I kind of do, actually. But not as much!
I can't believe I love you already. It's kind of insane, isn't it?
Kind of like me and Tonks. I fell in love with her very quickly, too. Of course, it was a different kind of love. You'll understand one day. Then again, you might be like me and not.
Maman and I had a little chat about you after the Healer...sorry, midwife, put you to sleep.
"Est-ce que tu penses qu'elle est belle, Remus?"
"Euh...peut-être?" I shrugged. I wasn't sure what to think, the whole situation was very strange and I was trying to take it in my stride.
"Elle ressemble à son père..." My mother sighed.
"Maman...can we not speak in French? I'm too tired." I pleaded at her. I couldn't really be bothered to do the usual translation relaying in my mind. Normally it'd only take a few seconds, but now I actually had to think.
"You are tired, Remus? How do you think I feel, hé?" she laughed. She did look a bit rough. Unsurprising, considering what she had been through. I was slightly in awe of her. My transformations, excruciating as they were, were over in less than a minute. She, however, had been going for more than a day. It was quite incredible.
"Sorry, Maman. Yes, I...think she is beautiful. What are you going to call her?"
"Ah...well, I thought maybe her big brother would like to choose."
"Really?...Gosh. But I don't know what to call her!"
"Well, you'll have to think, won't you?"
"Oh..." I sighed exasperatedly. My mother just laughed, but her eyes were sad.
We sat in silence for a while. Then something came over me. I don't know whether it was fatigue, or the fact that my hand and my back was aching, or that it was one of those family-love moments I wasn't used to having any more, but I got a huge urge to tell my mother about what, or rather, who, was on my mind.
"Maman...you know Sirius's cousin, Nymphadora?"
"Ouais." she said, as if I was telling her about something small.
"I think that I'm in love with her."
My mother's eyes widened. "Well, why don't you ask her for a date?"
"Because...oh, Maman! You know why! Because I'm a..." I suddenly remembered where we were. "Because of what I am."
My mother sighed deeply, gave me nothing more than a quick glance and turned her eyes back to the baby. I felt rather unloved.
"Maman..." I protested childishly, wanting her attention. Rather pathetic of me, I must admit. I was ridiculously tired.
"I wish that her father was here to see her..." she sighed, not looking at me. I felt my face go slightly hot.
"You mean you know who he is?"
I suddenly realised this was a rude implication. Thankfully, my mother just laughed.
"Of course! What do you take me for, Remus?"
She was quiet for a moment, and then began to tell me what I had been wondering since I received her letter about six months before now.
"It was just after Christmas. You had gone back to Hogwarts...and I was lonely once again. But then...one day, I went out to the fields. It was freezing cold, I guess I just wanted some fresh air, I do not know. But...there was a group of caravans parked at the edge. A group of people...gypsies... were sat round a fire...and there was this...man. He had beautiful red hair, and a wolfish grin." I frowned. "Sorry, chouchou. And...he spoke to me, and asked me if I wanted to come sit with him. And I did. We became friends...then more than friends."
"Oh." was all I could say, feeling a mixture of disgruntled and interested.
"I loved him, and he loved me. I hadn't felt that way about a man since your father died. So we...spent the night together. And a while after that, I discovered that I was pregnant. I spent so long thinking of when to tell him and how to tell him and whether I should tell him or not, as he probably just thought of it as a fling..."
"And then...he left. He moved on. Because that is what gypsies do. He had no idea that I was carrying his child. Now, I doubt if I'll ever see him again.
And so, Remus, you must tell Nymphadora how you feel. Even if she rejects you and shatters your heart into a million pieces, anything's better than being left wondering what might have happened if you had just opened your stupid mouth and..." My mother had tears rolling down her cheeks now. I wrapped my arms around her waist as I always used to, just as my mother picked up the baby.
"My babies..." she said. "I lost two wonderful men...but gained two wonderful children. I suppose I'm lucky, aren't I?"
I smiled a watery smile at the two of them, and my mother smiled back at me.
So, I thought about what Maman said. I knew that I wanted Nymphadora, and the thought of her leaving without ever knowing how I felt was...well, it was painful. But how did I tell her? Just walk up, and say 'I love you'? Send a bunch of flowers? What? So, I asked the only female closely available who could actually talk. No offence.
"But...Maman...how do I tell her?" I asked. My mother looked thoughtful. Then she got a huge grin on her face, one I was used to seeing on the likes of James and Sirius. I braced myself.
"What does Nymphadora like, Remus? What's her favourite thingy?"
Of course, that was only the beginning of our mother's insane plan. And I, foolishly, have agreed to it. Maman was, is positively thrilled about the idea. It could be the most embarrassing moment of my life. Then again, it could be the most romantic.
Either way, I am not telling you.
And now, because I love you all so much...it's a Special Reviewer Competition! WHEE!Who can think of a name for Remus's baby sister? Preferably with French connotations, as she, like her big brother, is half French. The prize is...having it in the story?